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2013-03-25 - I Was Helpless
Hope is of course alone in the Student Rec Room. Playing over the boom box as she can escape using the CD player and headphones Jono loaned her, David Bowie live is currently playing. She has some study books in front of her for history, but she isn't reading them. Instead, she has a large piece of paper in front of her, and is trying to design an energy handgun. Her expression is thoughtful and a bit intense, her mouth pressed into a thin line. It has been difficult to catch Hope. She sticks around during class hours, but is otherwise gone until curfew generally. And two nights ago she ended up crashing in Laura's and Rachel's room. She still just wears Xavier's Institute logo workout clothes, right now wearing jogging shorts and a sleeveless workout shirt. She is barefoot. Scott Summers moves into the rec-room, idly scrawling some notes on his often-present tablet, pausing when he spots Hope, then moving in quietly to study what she's working on a moment, unable to suppress a slight smirk, "Let me guess, another "science fair project?" Hope pauses at Scott's voice, and doesn't look back. She then shrugs and folds up the paper to hide her work. "No, for personal use," she states calmly, only with slightly more emotion than Laura has when Laura speaks in a matter-of-fact manner. "What can I do for you?" "We generally don't make a habit of allowing the students to carry weapons around the grounds." Scott notes, moving over to sit on one of the couches nearby. "You seem awfully determined to be a walking arsenal." There isn't much humor in Scott's tone, just his own brand of matter-of-factness. "And you are a walking weapon," Hope says when she looks over at Scott. "What's the difference as long as they are used responsibly and for the good of mankind?" Hope leans back, crossing her arms over her stomach, not looking too pleased right now as she glances away from you. "The difference is that this is a school, not a shooting range, war-zone, or armed camp." Again, no anger in Scott's tone, "So you're clearly upset about something, and I don't think it's just about your weapons." Hope takes a deep breath and finally looks at Scott. "I'm not against an education, part of me would even love to go to school, pretend to be a normal kid. But I'm -not-. I came here looking for help, for allies, cause I can't do it alone. But I need to be out there," and she unfolds her arms to point toward the front of the building. "Out there, making a difference. Be it helping an old lady across the street, or doing what has to be done to save the world. Instead, I'm not training, my weapons are locked up, and I feel like I'm about to get smothered. I get it, I do; you don't want me dead. I'm not some little stray kid that needs taken care of though. I -trained- for this stuff my entire life. I've seen stuff I wish I could unsee, but that's life. You pick up the pieces and move on, cause it's the right thing to do." She tosses her hands up into the air and rolls her eyes, "I'm not some breakable kid. Considering the crap I've been through, I'm actually highly emotionally stable with a postive and hopeful outlook on life. I think I'm pretty damn amazing actually," she says with mild sarcasm, "for that. Not that I don't have room to grow, but...well, I don't need someone else trying to put me together or hide my head under a blanket. I need people I can trust and depend on to protect my back, and I -thought- I could find that here." Hope then pouts a bit and recrosses her arms over her stomach, "And I'm not trying to be some melodramatic brat either. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about." "It might be helpful if you were a bit more forthcoming about just what you're saving the world -from- Hope. We've already taken a lot on faith with you, but people will only go so far when they have no idea what they're getting into." He notes, "And while your combat skills might be exceptional for someone of your age, nearly everything else about your education is abysmal." Scott once again notes dispassionately, "You came here knowing what this place was, and for the most part who we were, but -we- don't have the same luxury where you're concerned." "No it isn't!" Hope then takes a deep breath, "I know more about energy weapons than most people around here, and I can even rig a make-shift EMP," by mistake, but anyway. She then gets up and arms are uncrossed again as she paces, "I can't tell you alright!" Her arms flap a bit at her sides in frustration. "What is, is. Sometimes, there are things out of your control. Sometimes, there are things you actually don't want to know and you don't know it yet." Like people protect her from her full prophesy, she protects the X-Men and Generation X from knowing their future fate and how horrifying it can be. "And...," she pauses in front of you and takes a deep breath. "I can spin a wild tale for you Scott, one you would believe in a heartbeat. But I won't. I rather just not lie and say nothing, because I know that the Institute and everyone means a lot to you. I just need given a chance to -prove- that I can contribute and help save the future with you all. I can't be everywhere at once, and some things...they are just too big for me to handle alone. We all got to grow Scott, especially Generation X." Hope glances down at her hands...they aren't real soft like most girls. "Scott...things will become more clear in the future, I know they will. I just...can't betray the trust some others have put in me, especially my dad," her throat closing up a bit at talking about her dad...that pain wasn't there before, as if something 'changed' since she first arrived. She then looks up at Scott, "Just please believe me, dad and I, we love -all- of you. And Xavier's dream is precious to both of us, and more than -anything-, even our own lives, we want to see that dream become a reality." Leave it to a teenager to say a bunch about nothing practically. "Which are combat skills." Scott notes of the Energy weapons and EMPs. He listens to Hope, not interrupting her monologue. When she finishes he notes, "I don't think anyone doubts your earnestness, Hope, but you have to admit it's a tall order. You're basically implying that you're here to recruit us for a fight that we're not allowed to know about until it happens, and while I have some experience in fighting foes you can't see, you can't fight a foe you can't even -conceive- of. You're still a virtual stranger to us, and we're apparently -not- to you...not exactly anyway. Either way, I'm not about to just roll over and say "Sure, do whatever you need with the X-Men" without more information. As far as the school goes, no one's keeping you here against your will, and you already seem keen to push the rules to their absolute limits, but if you want to be here, I'm afraid having a lot of combat training doesn't exempt you from the rest of the education that kids your age are getting here, and doesn't mean you get to ignore those rules we have in place. I'm sorry you feel that's "smothering" but the primary purpose of this Institute isn't to be someone's private army...it's to teach." Hope raises a hand to run through her red hair, her expression conflicted. "That...the only army I want to create is for a movement, a social one. Not...," she sighs. "Hold on, alright?" She moves to leave the room, but then pauses and turns back to you. "You...can't tell anyone this," her voice so very quietly suddenly. "-Especially- Jean. I...don't think she can emotionally handle it right now, you understand?" The fact that even Hope realizes how emotionally fragile Jean is when she is brand new, is likely not a pleasant blow to Scott. "I...think you will understand when you see it." Her eyes are...sad. Scott frowns a touch, but only the merest touch. "I don't ordinarily keep secrets from Jean, but she doesn't go prying for them either. A social movement is what we've been trying to create all along, but I'm afraid "society" has to -want- to be engaged for that to work. We're better off than we were a few years ago, but I don't think we're quite there yet. Not saying it isn't worth continuing to try, just that it isn't an idea that's new to us." A nod at that, "I know, but the world needs to be made ready." Hope then disappears for a while. She actually heads upstairs and finds her hidden stash. Her stomach rolls, and she thinks she is about to throw up. If she screws things up for her dad...she...a deep breath is taken then. She then moves to head back downstairs quickly before she loses her nerve. She glances about attentively before moving back into the rec room after making sure they are alone. She had slipped her boots on - the knife hidden inside - and wears a metal chunky bracer on her one wrist. It was something she wore the first time she appeared, but hasn't been seen on her really since. She slips something open on it and punches in a few things. She then looks over at you, the nervousness reflected in her eyes. "You...can't freak, alright?" She then says, "Go ahead and stand, it will be easier to show it to you that way." A bit of an odd request to say the least, and Hope obviously looks nervous though she is working to keep her voice steady and confident sounding. Scott tilts his head slightly, "Should I be wearing my visor?" He can't help but ask, studying Hope, and the device she wears, but doesn't ask any further questions. Freaking out? Scott? That's a rare, rare occurrence. She should know that! A shake of her head, "If that is needed, I -really- screwed up." But Hope then reaches out to slip her hand into your right one, moving her wrist band toward the hands to press a button on it; though it is tilted in a manner that you can't see what the display reads. And then suddenly, there is a strange sensation, almost tickling, but...not. And the two forms of you both start to come apart almost digitally, and in the next moment the two of you are coming back together again. You stand by what appears to be Breakstone Lake and it is a barren land muddy as if there was a recent big snow melt. And when Scott looks over Hope's head where the school is....is mostly a hole in the ground with bits of what appears to be some sort of space ship debris left behind. Hope is looking up into your face with worry etched upon her features. "You and Laura were so determined I was from the future...have you thought about what that meant? It meant that Rachel failed to change the timeline enough bring about a peaceful future," her voice breaking a bit. Scott surveys the wreck of the mansion with all the emotion of a stone. Oh, he's feeling the jolt readily enough, but he keeps it stamped down with the rest of his emotions. He's silent a few moments, his head wrapping around the transit and what he's seeing, before looking back to Hope, "Or it could be a separate timeline. Hank's explained some of this to me in layman's terms. According to Reed Richards, time isn't necessarily a straight line. It's more like a tree with a lot of branches." He notes almost immediately, "Not that this means we shouldn't be concerned about it...far from." He pauses, his voice as calm as a sunny spring afternoon, "What happened, exactly?" A shake of her head, "I don't know all the details," Hope confesses. "I know some things and not others...I just have stories from my dad to go on. Like I knew I had to shut down the AIM base yesterday before the test subject was completed, because Hawkgirl would die otherwise. I only found it in time by pure luck, questioning some criminals at a bar. Some of it is by luck or research, others by dad's story, and others by reading old newspapers." She then asks, "I have one more thing to show you, are you ready?" "Yes." Scott notes, still outwardly as cool as a cucumber. Inwardly roiling, but that's not really anything new or different for him. The mansion's been destroyed before...it can be rebuilt. Not that he won't do everything in his power to stop it from happening in the first place, but as bad as this is, it might not quite be the full gut-punch. Yet. Still holding your hand, Hope then punches something else within the time travel device, and this time it is her expression that steels...the two of you appear and it is quite chilly here as well...but below the two of you is a town burning the smoke pitch black as it rises. The trees and layout, it looks like Alaska. She says nothing at first other than, "You cannot stop it...without changing the past." Both of you are helpless, though it's a feeling in the gut that there is death below the mountain the two of you are standing in. Scott can feel Hope's hand tighten in his, as if this one hurts her even more. "What is this place?" He looks around, "Alaska?" He then looks down once more, "What happened here? What exactly are you showing me, and how does it tie in to your plans back in my present day?" Hope swallows hard, "This was my hometown...down there, I'm an infant and...and the entire town is being massacred. I'm the sole survivor because...dad came and saved me. It's...my fault," her fingers tightening more. "My fault...everyone died, and I was just a baby, I couldn't...-do anything-. Just like after, when...the only mom I ever knew died. It...it's so -frustrating- to be helpless. All I can do is put band-aids on things in the future. It won't stop the anti-mutant group that did this, it won't bring equality between mutants, meta-humans, and humans." The eyes that finally turn back to Scott is heated, "The seeds of the anti-mutant group that did this is in -your- time Scott. "There is a more injustices on this level or -worse-. But I -know- we can stop it Scott! If anyone can, it's you and the original X-Men!" The faith is there now, reflected. "You -always- been there when I needed you, so please...please be there -now-. I don't want to hurt you, I don't...want to destroy yours or anyone's hope for the future. Because I think we can -save- it. I want to protect all of your hopes and make them come real," tears gathering in her eyes. "Can you understand? Please understand Scott," the pleading obvious. She knows too much, and the weight she is trying to carry alone is great for her young shoulders, but it's almost...as if she is barely even touching the iceberg. How can she band-aid the future? Why wouldn't she do it? Scott's silent while Hope explains, and he can see her falling apart (well not really, but being torn up nonetheless). As she speaks, he places his hands on her shoulders, "Hey...it's OK. What happened...is happening down there is -not your fault-. You can't take the blame simply for being born." He straightens a bit, but leaves his hands on her shoulders. "But I understand. We're going back the mansion and I'm locking you in your room forever." Yes, he's been shown the dire future that faces mutant-kind (at least a portion of it)...and he just cracked a joke. Which -hopefully- is evident. All the more so when the corner of his mouth ever-so-slightly twitches upwards. But he has to laugh to keep from crying. Hope's eyes get wide at you, as if thinking you just went crazy! But...then the corners of your mouth tilt up, and she makes a choking, laughing sound. And she does cry then, and she moves to hug you, holding tightly. She doesn't explain that she is the Mutant Messiah and it is all her fault...because of who and what she is, something she had no choice over. But...it's nice of Scott to say that to her. True or not, it soothes her and she feels better for it. Her voice is muffled then against you, "You...reminded me of my dad." Lord forbid, Cable got his humor from Scott! Perhaps surprisingly, Scott hugs her back almost fiercely. He knows all too well what it's like to feel like you have no control over something you desperately -want- to have control over. "Let's go home. We'll talk more there." A nod at that, Hope's face still pressed against your chest. But she then pulls away a bit and rubs at her face before she punches something into her wrist band. She doesn't look back at the town that brings her horrifying nightmares. She instead moves to hold your hand again and press the button on her wrist band. The bodies fade away, and when the two of you repair, you are actually in the maze at Xavier's Institute. Hope works on trying to clean up her face more as if to get away of evidence and stomp her boots to try and get some of the mud off. It was...real, no illusion. "All right. You're probably going to have to tell me more, at least about what you have planned. Is there something -specific- we can do to try to avert this, or is this some sort of general catastrophe?" Scott starts to make his way through the maze. "You can have your pistols back, but please keep them secured in your room while you're on school grounds, outside of training and emergencies. I assume they have a non-lethal setting?" He doesn't actually wait for her to answer. "I'd still prefer you build any experimental jet packs in the lab instead of the garage, though...." A nod from Hope, she won't go into details about settings, etc, but she agrees to be careful about the guns. But she then smiles a bit, "Do Rachel and I get our own lab? I really want to improve my engineering skills. Dad is -really- good, and I want to be good like him. Though I doubt I'll be building a time machine myself anytime soon." Science is apparently going to be this girl's strong point. But she actually smiles up at you, "I'll take the tests. I really do want to go to school." She has not had a traditional education by far, and now Scott understands a little bit of why; the girl with her dropped hints before has been on the run this entire time. "And I'll tell you when stuff is happening. It's...a lot of different things that come together. But we need to watch the Reverend Stryker closely," the smile fading. "I would have already handled him, but I think at this point it only turn him into a martyr until it can be proven what a monster he is." Hope has nothing to go on right now, no proof, and she knows acting blindly would cause more damage than help. "I don't know how to handle it yet." Yep, a shoot first, ask questions later kinda girl...Scott sooooo has his hands full.